Blogs

Published in the April 2025 issue of the ISHA Voice.

• In February 2025, members of ISHA’s Billing and Reimbursement Committee were able to meet with Meghan Ryan, ASHA’s Director of Health Care Policy- Private Health Plans.  The meeting was focused on providing guidance to the committee in and around state-level advocacy efforts.  This discussion included information about potential impacts of the new federal administration on speech-language pathology and audiology clients as well as SLPs and audiologists.  Ms. Ryan emphasized the need for advocacy for Medicaid funding, since cuts in Medicaid funding have a known trickle-down effect for states.  ISHA would like to remind membership that ASHA has a number of current resources available to aid in advocacy efforts at www.asha.org/advocacy.  In addition to discussion about general reimbursement advocacy efforts, Ms. Ryan also helped provide additional background and information regarding private insurance reimbursement, including antitrust law consideration.  The billing and reimbursement committee will continue collaborating with the legislation and regulation committee, ASHA, and membership.      
• ISHA’s Ethics Education Committee is working on an increased presence on social media and is looking at making their 2026 ISHA Convention presentation more interactive and in a different format.  The committee met on March 31, 2025. 
• ISHA’s School Affairs Committee participated in the Speaking for Children Meeting in early April. The committee continues to monitor legislation that could impact work in the schools as an SLP, SLPA, or Aud. The committee will meet again in June. The committee was excited to celebrate and recognize committee member, Karen Kockler, at the 2025 ISHA Convention. 
• ISHA’s IPECP Committee is happy to celebrate the following publication by one of our members in the scholarship of interprofessional education and practice. Congratulations Meredith Baker-Rush.
• Gunaldo, T. P., Baker-Rush, M., Smeets, H., & Xyrichis, A. (2025). Rethinking interprofessional language: A call for a living definition. Journal of Interprofessional Care. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2025.2480557

• The Telepractice Committee is collaborating with the Technology track-chair to create an AAC & Telepractice series of educational offerings. 
• As the ASHA SEAL for IL and member of several ISHA committees, Karen Kockler has been involved with the following:

1. IEP Paperwork Redundancy meetings with legislators, ISBE, and Advance Illinois
2. Working with members of the LEAD-K group who submitted the proposed bill HB1783 which advocates for D/HH/D-Blind Children; working to revise the language in the bill so that it reflects the needs of those who provide services to these populations
3. The Assistants Task Force members will be submitting a request for the formation of an Assistants and Supervisors Committee to become an official ISHA committee
4. A group of SLPs and Karen met to work on drafting eligibility and dismissal criteria guidance on April 15.  If any school-based SLPs have eligibility and/or dismissal criteria that they like, please share them by sending to kkockler1975@gmail.com.
5. Work continues on drafting a new ISBE Guide for Audiologists, SLPs and Assistants
6. The Student Advocacy Grant Project is underway with 6 student participants so far. If any undergraduate or graduate students out there are interested in participating, the project is especially in need of those who would represent the western, far north and eastern parts of the state. Please complete this survey if interested! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScthj-ZunaCdb93zqIsXNK5DAGqGC7c5fQlNPN_4MqiHRi6GQ/viewform?usp=header

• State Advocate for Reimbursement (ASHA STAR) Update:  

2025 MEDICAID Key Points:  It is not too late to advocate for the protection of Medicaid services for our clients! If you have already advocated, you can advocate again! The federal government has approved a $880 Billion revenue cut over the next 10 years. This is across all programs, not just Medicaid, but there are only certain programs that the cuts can come from, so Medicaid is at high risk. We are advocating to protect Medicaid rights for people with disabilities. Where are things now? Currently, the proposed budget cuts passed the House of Representatives, however how those cuts are assigned is still to be determined. ASHA is there every week, on The Hill, reading the letters that we send in. They are continuing to pull new letters and new stories to share with legislators. What can you do? Submit more letters and call your legislators! Encourage clinicians to submit letters! Let them know their clients can submit letters! (And it is very powerful to have patients tell their own stories). Sign up for ASHA headlines to get notifications as things change using these links:

• https://ashaa.quorum.us/campaign/113787/
• https://ashaa.quorum.us/campaign/113562/
• https://ashaa.quorum.us/campaign/medicaid25/